Royals’ bullpen woes continue as Tigers rally for series-clinching win
The Royals only added to the narrative of their bullpen struggles Saturday as the Detroit Tigers rallied to win behind a five-run seventh inning that included a grand slam home run with two outs in the second game of their three-game series.
The Tigers took advantage of a reeling Royals bullpen to secure a 7-4 series-clinching win in front of an announced 22,111 at Comerica Park. The loss extended the Royals’ current slide to five consecutive games, and their opponents have scored the winning run(s) in the seventh inning or later in four of those games.
“You (saw) tonight I got two outs and I was ahead in the count. I wasn’t able to make the pitch when I had to,” Royals reliever Wily Peralta said. “I think that’s been the whole situation for everybody.”
Peralta gave up the seventh-inning grand slam to left-handed-hitting Christin Stewart with the Royals (2-5) on the verge of escaping a momentum-crushing scenario a half inning after their offense put them in control of the game, 4-2, with a three-run top of the seventh.
Alex Gordon’s 92nd assist of his career saved what looked like a sure run and temporarily stemmed the “here we go again” tide after Kevin McCarthy put the first three batters of the seventh inning on base for the Tigers (6-3) with a single, a hit batter and an RBI single by Nicholas Castellanos which made it a one-run game, 4-3, with no outs.
Gordon, a six-time Gold Glove winner, scooped up Miguel Cabrera’s single to left field with Tigers leadoff man Josh Harrison about to round third base. Gordon fired to catcher Martin Maldonado in time to get Harrison in a bang-bang play at the plate.
After Gordon’s run-saving throw, Peralta replaced McCarthy (0-1) and got the first batter he faced to fly out, putting the Royals in position to get out of the jam and hold onto the lead.
However, Peralta walked Jeimer Candelario on a full count and then gave up the grand slam to Stewart as the fans at Comerica Park erupted and the Tigers took a 7-4 lead after facing a two-run deficit when the inning’s first batter stepped into the box.
“I wanted to go down and away,” Peralta said of the pitch that stayed pretty much middle, middle-in. “In that situation, you have to execute. I wasn’t able to do that.”
Jorge Lopez’s solid start for KC was just a distant memory by the time the dust settled on the seventh inning, but he allowed two runs — just one earned — over six innings and scattered five hits and three walks while avoiding major trouble.
Peralta expressed confidence the bullpen woes will end soon, citing the experience of the unit.
“It’s just little things that we’re doing right now, and a little mistake and we pay for it,” Peralta said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be through the whole year. Our bullpen is too good for being in this situation right now, especially myself. I think we’re going to be out of there quick. We’ve just got to keep fighting and try to execute a little bit better.”
Through the first seven games of the season, the Royals bullpen has now allowed 21 runs (all earned) on 29 hits and 20 walks in 21 1/3 innings.
“If you get frustrated it just makes things worse,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “If the players see I’m frustrated then they’ll get frustrated. And then they’ll start pressing more.
“They don’t like this. They don’t want this. My job is to not get frustrated. It’s my job to lead them out of this, to support them. They’re going to get out of this. It’s a tough period right now, and we just have to keep battling.”
The Royals’ scoring came exclusively via the home run: Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler blasted solo shots, the first of the season for each of them, and Hunter Dozier’s two-run homer gave the Royals a brief 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
Merrifield hammered a center-cut thigh-high 2-1 pitch over the wall in left-center field in the sixth. He simultaneously extended his hitting streak to 27 games and tied Jose Offerman for the second-longest hitting streak in club history, the longest active streak in the majors.
Rookie first baseman Frank Schwindel also picked up his first major-league hit in the seventh inning leading up to Dozier’s two-run homer.
This story was originally published April 6, 2019 at 3:04 PM.
